Volkswagen ID.4 Electrical Problems

Electrical complaints by model year

Which parts fail

• Instrument cluster/panel
  3
• Propulsion system
  2
• Propulsion system › Charging › Cable/cord › Accessory
  2
• Propulsion system › Traction battery
  1
• Body control module/BCM
  1
• Propulsion system › Traction battery › Management system/energy control module (BMS/becm) › Software
  1
• Software
  1
• 12V/24V/48V battery
  1

Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  4368%
• 25k–50k
  1219%
• 50k–75k
  58%
• 75k–100k
  00%
• 100k–150k
  12%
• 150k+
  23%

What owners report

For the second time, the car began burning and smoking from the windshield, melting parts of the car near the windshield wipers and the glass itself, and filling the car's cabin with smoke. The burning and smoking went on for 15 minutes after we safely escaped. Myself and my family, including a young child, inhaled a lot of smoke before we were able to exit the car. The car was towed to the dealer and they have so far claimed that the large, charred, burned out holes are "rock chips," which is certainly not the case. I have asked the manufacturer to come and inspect the car the first time this happened, when the car was brand new and I turned on the heated windshield for the first time and this happened, but they refused to do so. It's a known issue and there's a class action lawsuit in Canada, but the manufacturer is trying to cover it up in the US to avoid a similar suit. …

On [redacted], shortly before 7:00 we parked our EV in the designated charging space at the EVgo charging station on at the EVgo charging station located at [redacted] and connected the charging cable to our 2025 Volkswagen ID.4 in the normal, intended manner, as we had done previously. We paid by credit card and watched the EVgo screen confirm proper connection and that charging had begun. We remained in the vehicle for several minutes to verify the session was proceeding normally and observed nothing unusual-no warning lights, error messages, or signs of malfunction. Only after confirming that charging appeared underway did we leave the car. We went into the Marshalls store across the parking lot. Inside the store, I monitored the charging progress through the Volkswagen mobile app, which showed the battery percentage increasing. …

While attempting to park in my driveway, the vehicle experienced a complete loss of braking. The brake pedal did not stop the vehicle, and pressing the electronic parking brake switch had no effect. The vehicle continued forward and crashed through my closed garage door. The only reason it stopped was because it struck another vehicle parked inside my garage. That impact pushed the parked vehicle into my garage refrigerator, which then damaged the drywall on the garage wall adjacent to my bedroom. None of the safety systems functioned as expected. The parking sensors did not activate, there were no proximity warnings, and the automatic emergency braking system did not engage. After the crash, I exited the vehicle, but it remained powered on instead of shutting down automatically. It only turned off after I got back into the vehicle and exited multiple times. …

The contact owns a 2024 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to slow the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to slow immediately. The contact stated that his wife was able to bring the vehicle to a complete stop by pump the brake pedal. The contact stated that while his wife was depressing the brake pedal, the radio volume was not working as designed, the windows were rolling up and down independently, and the headlamps were not functioning as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,000.

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID. 4. The contact stated while the vehicle was charging at a Volkswagen charger center, the charging port that attach to the vehicle caught on fire causing the vehicle to burn. No one was injured. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 2,494.

The contact owns a 2023 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V344000 (Back Over Prevention, Equipment, Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the instrument cluster screen went blank. The contact pulled over and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the instrument cluster became operable. The contact stated that the instrument cluster was rebooting as if the vehicle had been started and was stuck in a reboot loop before eventually regaining normal functionality. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and occurred at various speeds. …

The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated that there was a message to update the software displayed. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds, the vehicle came to a complete stop. While driving at various speeds, the camera and the infotainment screen were inoperable. The vehicle failed to start as needed. While the vehicle was idling, all the doors were locked, with the contact holding a key fob. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V344000 (Back Over Prevention, Equipment, Electric System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. …

The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen ID.4. The contact stated that the vehicle was hard to charge. The vehicle failed to charge after placing on the charger. There was an abnormal burning smell detected. While driving 60-70 MPH, the screen became inoperable. While driving, the screen went blank but then illuminated as designed. The contact rebooted the computer and the computer reset. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V651000 (Structure) and 24V344000 (Back Over Prevention, Equipment, Electrical System); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. …

Related recalls (9)

NHTSA investigations